I hadn't read it for a few years, and couldn't resist a reread after the movie since I was a little hazy on the book structure (I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and wanted to revisit the scenes in the novel). I don't know whether it was the movie, seeing all the characters come to life, being more interested in dwarves in general or the fact that I'm older now, but I absolutely LOVED it. I just appreciated the language and story so much more than when I had previously read it. The Hobbit was a significant part of my childhood but I experienced a sudden wave of love and admiration for the book, especially the writing, in my last read.

Read it December 12th!!! We were in Disney, I always travel with my green hardcover copy. Have only paged around it for quotes since then, and find that the last few chapters are hard to look through now.

An age where spare time didn't feel eerily ominous and unnatural. An age before the word "advisor" became salient in importance. About 3 years - right before all my spare time became forfeit for research pursuits. I haven't completely recovered from that "state of being yet" - and I still have some serious assigned reading that I better do.